Google Professional Cloud Architect Study Guide

Chapter 6. Design for Cost Optimization: Saving Money While Getting Things Done

Not too far from me, in Biloxi, Mississippi, there are a bunch of casinos down on the beach. More than one of them has these big, all-you-can-eat buffets. You know how buffets are; you walk in, eyes wide at the endless possibilities, and before you know it, you’ve loaded your plate with more than you could possibly consume. Then, when you’ve done all the damage you can, you have that “Oh God, I ate too much” feeling.

Working in Google Cloud can frequently end up like those buffets. Your manager gives you unfettered access to the fantastic set of resources that is Google Cloud, and eyes wide, you start building systems using all this unimaginably cool tech. Before you know it, you’re solving problems that you didn’t even know existed with products you couldn’t have even imagined a few days ago.

Then comes the bill at the end of the month. Instead of, “Oh God I ate too much,” the reaction tends to be more along the lines of “Oh God, I spent too much.”

Yeah, if you’re ever sitting around, scratching your chin, thinking, “I wonder if Google is going to charge me for…” let me just stop you right there. Yes. The answer is almost always, yes.

What tends to make matters more confusing is when you read the studies and statistics. One of the things they mention is that an org can typically save up to 40% by going to the cloud. But if you keep reading, they also say that for 6 out of 10 organizations, their ...